Asian stocks rise on Greece progress, China's recovery

Asian stock markets ended Friday on a positive note, as the market rebound in China entered a second day and on the back of rising hopes for a deal between Greece and its creditors.

Greece offered new measures including a tax hike on shipping companies in the latest proposal sent to creditors on Thursday, as Athens raced against the clock to win new financial aid.

Overnight, U.S. stocks finished mildly higher, giving back more than half of opening gains as investors remained cautious on China and Greece. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.3 percent, while the blue-chip Dow and S&P 500 ticked up 0.2 percent each.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite index bounced 4.6 percent to chalk up a two-day winning streak, reversing the meltdown which occurred earlier in the week, following a flurry of fresh regulatory support from Beijing.

Elsewhere in the world's second-biggest economy, the CSI 300 index of the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen climbed 5.4 percent, while the Shenzhen Composite surged 4.1 percent.

However, there are analysts who remain cautious about the renewed strength in the mainland equity markets.

"What a trader needs to ask is: where would the market be if there wasn't intervention? Obviously much lower and that is the real market and clearing price. [Now is a] good opportunity for those who haven't sold already to get out because there's a lot more to fall," Jim Rickards, chief global strategist at West Shore Funds, told CNBC's "The Rundown" Friday.

Tencent appeared to be unaffected by news that around six former employees had been detained by authorities as part of an ongoing graft investigation. Shares of the social network and online media company closed up 2 percent, while Alibaba Pictures soared nearly 4 percent.

Japan's Nikkei 225 fell back into negative territory in the afternoon session, weighed down by a 6 percent slump in index heavyweight Fast Retailing. The Tokyo bourse remained below the key 20,000 mark.

Shares of the owner of casual clothing chain Uniqlo plunged from the start of trade, as a weak outlook for domestic sales during the June-August period eclipsed a 36 percent jump in the company's nine-month profit.

Honda Motor recouped losses to finish flat, a day after announcing an expansion in recall to replace faulty airbags made by Takata Corp.

ASX gains 0.4%

Australia's S&P ASX 200 index eked out modest gains, thanks to a pick-up in interest for resources plays following a rebound in commodity prices overnight.

Market bellwether BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto elevated more than 2 percent each after the price of iron ore bounced back to $48.30 a tonne on Thursday.

A stabilization in crude oil prices also put some color back into struggling energy producers on Friday, with Santos and Woodside Petroleum rising 1.9 and 0.2 percent, respectively.

Retailers such as Lotte Shopping and Shinsegae closed down 0.7 and 9 percent respectively, as they await the bidding results for a license to open new duty-free shops in downtown Seoul. However, Hotel Shilla surged 8.9 percent.

Meanwhile, financial markets in Taiwan are shuttered on Friday due to Typhoon Chan-hom.